Anime Wrap-Up #5

Hello hello! Anime Wrap-Up is a new section of this blog, directed to anime I've consumed in any way during the previous week/month. 

Let's get to it! Today we're covering the weeks from January 22nd to February 11th.
We'll be talking about:

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Rec 

Let us start with Rec (+ special). I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this show and I guess that was a good thing. While I had no expectations, I couldn't get disappointed. Rec seemed to be some kind of romance drama mixed with comedy about a guy working in ad company and a girl that wanted to be like Audrey Hepburn. 

I liked the aspect of voice acting, I have a few anime like that on my planning list and I was very excited about it, to be honest. 

As for the romance, I did think it was too rushed, given that they kissed in the first episode without us knowing anything about them or their relationship. Given (I watched that last week) had less romance in it and made me swoon. Also, that didn't even start the romance - as Aka got shy and refused any romantic contact with Matsumaru. Which... weird, but okay.

Rec is from 2006 and the subtitles are very true to that. Remember when translators used to explain every little detail? And even puns? Golden time of subbing. For me, some things like explaining -chan or "itadakimasu - tadaima" were pointless but I know how much I appreciated them when I was an anime newbie. Great job and bonus points for that!

One problem with anime that's circa 12 minutes long is that they are circa 12 minutes long. Not much can happen and some episodes are just random scenes glued together. This anime wasn't bad and I get what's there to like... but compared to other shows I've seen it was very weak...

The special is supposed to be the 7.5 episode, but it doesn't touch the original series at all. We got a short story about Aka and Matsumaru's "date" being ruined by dumped Tanaka-san (the woman from the first episode that stood Matsumaru up). Now this was fun! Seeing Aka jealous, Matsumaru being tested... good episode. 

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Neko no Ongaeshi (The cat returns)

I had the pleasure of watching Neko no Ongaeshi from which this iconic shot comes:

It's been a while since I watched an anime movie with my roommate, as we are strictly watching anime that was dubbed in one of the languages that we are fluent in. I was a bit worried that this one won't be dubbed - but thankfully we could enjoy this together.

I love watching Ghibli movies with her. She is so fun when she gives her opinions, yells at the TV or makes comments that make me wheeze so I don't hear next five minutes.

Just for the sake of going down the memory lane, I asked her to rate the movies we already saw together, so this is her chart:

• 1. Princess Mononoke
  
• 2. Howl's Moving Castle
  
• 3. Mary and the Witch's Flower
  
• 4. Grave of the Fireflies
  
• 5. Porco Rosso
  
• 6. Whisper of the Heart
  
• 7. The Secret World of Arrietty
  
• 8. Ponyo
  
• 9. Kiki's Delivery Service
• 10. Spirited away
  

But now, let's get to the movie. My roommate says, it belongs somewhere in the half of the list. I disagree. I'd put it higher.
The animation was a bit weird, and the art style wasn't exactly pretty... but it did it's job. It still managed to make us feel the right emotions.
Together with Haru (my idol, she can talk to cats!!) and Humbert von Gikkingen Danshaku (the cat statue from Whisper of the Heart) we get transported to Cat's kingdom and watch with held breath how Haru begins to turn into a cat... 
That summary right there is the most confusing sentence I ever written - but it has it's reason. If it interested you, go watch the movie. If you feel like what I said does not make sense, go prove me wrong!
No, seriously, go watch it. It's perfect!
I loved it, I loved all the characters, I loved the story and the twists, I thought it was very funny and it kept me on my toes. Not to mention the background/landscape art was very very good. (As opposed to the character design - thinking about it though, only humans were drawn weirdly...) Anyway - I am incredibly happy I found my way to this movie.

Honorable mentions: Muta who stole my heart, Yuki who stole my roommate's heart, Neko Ou who reminds us of a certain "Imro" and Natoru who was getting on our nerves.

9/10 and that's just because my roommate didn't agree that it's 10/10. :(

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Mary to Majo no Hana (Mary and The Witch's Flower)

In the next two days, we saw more movies.

Mary to Majo no Hana was a "wannabe Ghibli" movie that I doubted I'd enjoy but grew to love incredibly. The art style and animation were very similar to Ghibli movies - at first I enjoyed it, then I was confused. It worked well though.

In this movie we meet Mary - a clumsy little girl with red hair that meets two kittens who introduce her to the Fly-by-Night flower.

The flower makes her a temporary witch and Mary's own uniqueness puts the girls in a strange position. To everyone, her hair says how amazing of an witch she is, and her talents are out of the world.

We meet the school's principal Madame Mumblechook and the quirky teacher Doctor Dee who have one goal - to create a super form of the ultimate which.

The Fly-by-Night power becomes very important and the 12-year-old protagonist has to safe her friends, herself and the magic world from getting corrupted...

Also! There are cats in this anime as well!

That is the way I viewed film and also my review of it. It was an interesting (but not unique) story that kept me entertained. I do recommend everyone to watch it, it's great! 8/10.

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Kurenai no Buta (Porco Rosso)

Kurenai no Buta was the first disappointing Ghibli movie I ever had the pleasure of seeing. Now don't get me wrong, I loved it just as much as any other Ghibli film - but the ending left me as disappointed as no other.

When we were watching Spirited Away with my roommate, she hated the ending and I could only laugh.

This time around, she was the one laughing, saying "After what Spirited Away did to me, this was nothing". Her disappointment was still just as big as mine.

We are both studying history and we just came back from a subject that was covering WW2. In other words, this movie fit extremely well to what we were studying and I was laughing so hard at our commentary - we kept pausing and talking about the country, the planes, the way people lived and the political situation.

We were both interested in the fairytale too - a man that turned into pig... Even though we both cheered for different women, we liked all the romance the movie gave us, we yelled at the screen and we grinned during the fight. That speaks for itself, I think.

Porco Rosso was brilliant.

That ending though!! UGH! 7/10 because we're petty.

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Yoru wa Neko to Issho (Nights with a Cat)

The last one we're covering in this part is a short but fun Yoru wa Neko to Issho which is a must watch for every cat lover! Why? Because it depicts a daily life with our beloved kitty-katties!

It's longer, but 30 episodes are nothing when the episode time is circa 3 minutes. Not much is happening, but the simple stories really show the true side of cats, with all their quirks and weird characteristics.

It's not heavy on plot, quality or animation - but it's very laid back and fun to relax with! 7/10 as well!

   

    

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Then after that, the finals hit and I was in a slump. Before I knew it, February came and I decided to try to approach Anime Wrap-Up in a different light... so I will see you a bit later than before... 😉

I do apologize that this part was not as entertaining as the others, but I hope you can forgive it. 😃 I am already working on the next part, and I think that will be more genuine and detailed - so that's something to look out for!